Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, during a BBC interview on 15 September 2009, said that he was disappointed with the lack of repentance among those who caused the current financial crisis that began in 2008.

Williams said: ” There hasn’t been what I would, as a Christian, call repentance. We haven’t heard people saying, ‘Well actually, no, we got it wrong. And the whole fundamental principle on which we worked was unreal, was empty.’”“I wouldn’t say unrest but I think that what we are looking at is the possibility of a society getting more and more dysfunctional if the levels of inequality that we have seen in the last couples of decades are not challenged.”

Williams added that theologians had a role to play in the debate on wealth creation, and that economics was “too important to be left to economists.”

The Dean of York, the Rev. Keith James, said, "(St. Therese) is a gift of God to us all, and this is a chance for Christians of different traditions to pray for unity, and renew our faith and love."

The relics will arrive at York Minster on 1 October 2009 according to a statement published by the cathedral, and will be displayed for pilgrims and others to visit until the following day at noon. The cathedral will remain open all night.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the renowned Reformed Baptist preacher of 19th-century England, preached a sermon on Sunday, 15 August 1875, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in Newington, England, on I John 5:10 (“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself.”), which Spurgeon concluded with the prayer: “O, God Almighty, thou God of Latimer and Ridley, God of the martyrs, whose ashes are still among us, wilt thou suffer this people to go back again to false gods and saints and saintesses, and virgins, and crucifixes, relies, and cast clouts and rotten rags ; for to this also will they come if thy grace prevent not. Oh, my hearers, Jesus is the only Saviour of the sons of men. Believe in him and live. This is the only gospel : at your peril reject it. I pray you receive it for Christ's sake.”

Issue 23 of the Rev. Charles W. Wilson’s ARPTalk blog contains the article “The Culture of Intimidation Continues Unabated at Erskine College,” telling of the 1 September 2009 orientation meeting for Student Life Assistants where the new Erskine policy on discrimination and harassment was presented by the Erskine Anti-Discrimination Coordinator.

The new policy contains the normal non-discrimination statements concerning race, sex, etc., in school policies, etc., and cites applicable federal statutes. Several examples of relevant discriminatory actions are described, now appended by: “A student makes repeated malicious, half true, bad faith statements about a professor in a blog or on Facebook or to the Dean of Faculty.” [Ed. emphasis] The Anti-Discrimination Coordinator was reported to have then commented, “As was the case at this school.” [Ed. emphasis]

Wilson comments: “[T]his new policy is clearly aimed at suppressing the sort of student activities that took place last year.” Wilson goes on to suggest that the Erskine administration is risking the institute’s accreditation, and is risking legal action on behalf of wronged students by organizations such as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

ARPTalk Issue 16 dated 15 May 2009 contains the article “Erskine Students Threatened with Arrest,” describing an 8 May 2009 Town Hall Forum to discuss the 26 April 2009 “Moonlight Revolution” or “Moonlight Chalking” (when Erskine students wrote campus sidewalk chalk messages critical of the Erskine administration), where the Due West mayor (andErskine employee) told the assembled students that the police chief said that he would have arrested the sidewalk-chalking students if the chief had known about what was happening. Campus sidewalk chalking is a long-standing student tradition at Erskine.

Conference speaker, the Rev. Steven Crotts, will deliver several messages titled "Nowhere Man?," "What Sort of World is This?," "What Makes You So Special?," "Blowing Away the Clouds of Depression," and "No More Stingy Hosannas."

Steven Crotts graduated from Furman University, holds the Master of Divinity degree from Emory University, was a church pastor for more than twenty-five years, has authored more than twenty books, and is currently Director of the Carolina Study Center, a college campus-oriented teaching ministry.

Richard McCroskey III, 20, of Castro Valley, California, was arrested 19 September 2009 at the Richmond, VirginiaInternational Airport while waiting for a flight back to California. McCroskey has been charged with the murder of Niederbock, and is being held in jail. Murder charges will be filed against McCroskey in the other three deaths once the identities of the three are released to the public.

During a 20 September 2009 Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (CRPC) of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, congregational meeting, called to vote on whether or not to retain CRPC’s new senior pastor, the Rev. Tullian Tchividjian, the 1,362 voting members present cast their ballots 940 for and 442 against, or sixty-nine percent for to thirty-one percent against retaining Tchividjian. The congregational meeting was called after almost 400 petitions demanding the vote were received by CRPC.

The six church members that organized the petition campaign, including Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy, daughter of CRPC’s founding pastor the late Dr. D. James Kennedy, were earlier banned from the church campus and indirectly threatened with arrest for trespassing if they were to defy the ban. The six dissenting members still face possible disciplinary action by the CRPC session, and the six are claiming that the CRPC session did not follow due process before banishing them from CRPC.

PaceHigh School of Santa Rosa County, Florida, Principle Frank Lay, at a 28 January 2009 luncheon being held for donors to the building fund for a new school field house asked Athletic Director Robert Freeman to lead a blessing prayer. Lay and Freeman were charged with federal criminal contempt of court after the American Civil Liberties Union reported the prayer to the judge who oversaw an earlier consent decree with the county forbidding prayer by school employees.

Lay and Freeman, represented by the Liberty Counsel, were cleared of the criminal charges on 17 September 2009, after the judge ruled that there was no deliberate violation of the earlier consent decree.

More than sixty members of the U.S. Congress signed a letter of support to Lay, Freeman, and another school official cleared of prayer-related contempt charges in early September 2009, which concluded: “The tradition of offering prayer in America has become so interwoven into our nation’s spiritual heritage, that to charge someone criminally for engaging in such an innocent practice would astonish the men who founded this country on religious freedom.”

The consistory of MCC declined to cede control of the church, and instead amended its articles of incorporation and bylaws to remove any reference to the RCA, and the consistory withdrew US$430,000 from the church’s RCA-affiliated account and deposited the money with a different institution.

The CCC then filed suit against MCC, referencing the RCA Book of Church Order and the original MCC bylaws that state the superiority of the denominational constitution over that of individual RCA church bylaws.

California’s First District Court of Appeal on 16 September 2009 found in favor of the CCC, applying neutral principles of law to say that MCC is a subordinate church in the RCA and is bound by the denominational rules, canons, and constitution; that MCC’s amendments to its bylaws and articles of incorporation are invalid because MCC did not have the authority to leave the RCA of its own volition; and the court issued an injunction against the MCC church members from interfering with the classis’ control of church resources and operations.

Workshops will be held for individuals who want to explore their spiritual life through an intense labyrinth experience, including participating in building a labyrinth at the Historical Farmington Plantation. Topics to be covered include:

-- The basics of sacred geometry and its application to labyrinths;-- Classical and medieval labyrinth design principles;-- Considerations for building permanent and temporary labyrinths;-- How to build a masking tape labyrinth in fifteen minutes;-- Principles for making one’s own contemporary design; and-- Tips on how to get a labyrinth for one’s church, school, or hospital.

Additionally, time will be set aside for networking with conference participants to discuss labyrinth-making needs.

50,000 Muslims will gather 25 September 2009 on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC, for a national prayer gathering called the “Day of Islamic Unity.”

A key planner of the event, Hassen Abdellah, an attorney that defended World Trade Center bomber Mahmoud Abouhalima, says that the inspiration for the event came from U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama’s speech at the University of Cairo in which Obama said that Islam is an integral part of American society.The Traditional Values Coalition warns: “The Day of Islamic Unity is a dangerous event because it will galvanize Islamists into an army that will subvert our institutions and our way of life. Islam isn’t simply a religion; it is a totalitarian geo-political system that seeks total world domination. It seeks to impose Shariah Law on all peoples – by the sword.”

Christian and Muslim leaders held a joint news conference 22 September 2009 to discuss the Islamic prayer vigil scheduled 25 September 2009 on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.

President of the National Clergy Council, the Rev. Rob Schenck commented:"With over 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, it is important that Christians have an open dialogue with the Islamic community. The church must never be timid in reaching out to peoples and groups with differing beliefs and traditions. Too much is at stake for future generations not to begin this historic conversation. This is an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss."

Reformed Presbyterian minister and Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, the Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, added: "The heart of Christ is to reach out and build bridges to all peoples regardless of what their faith traditions or beliefs might be. Several years ago the Christian Defense Coalition began reaching out to the Muslim world which resulted in a prayer delegation going to Baghdad to pray for the nation of Iraq and Prime Minister Maliki.” (see photo)

"Since then we have had many conversations and discussions with Islamic leaders in Washington DC and around the world. This news conference gives us another chance to dialogue and share with our Islamic neighbors. It also gives us the platform to celebrate the greatness of America where everyone is allowed to practice their faith tradition in the public square free from government interference of harassment. The prayer vigil on the lawn of the Capitol [25 September 2009] highlights that timeless truth. Since [11 September 2001], the church should not run from Muslims in America but begin reaching out with God's love."

Publishers in early September 2009 announced that a revision to the New International Version (NIV) Bible will result in publication of a new edition in 2011. Once the 2011 version is published, the 2005 NIV with gender-neutral language will be taken off the market.

The Institute on the Constitution is an educational effort sponsored by the Law Office of Peroutka and Peroutka of Pasadena, Maryland. It is neither an instrument of, nor an advocate for, any particular political party. Rather, it advocates the restoration of our Constitutional Republic by offering classes, lectures, and products designed to re-acquaint the American people with our history, our heritage, and our Constitution, which is the very foundation of our Republic.

Truth in Science (TIS), a new science curriculum for students in grades three through six, was released on 15 September 2009.

TIS Includes a comprehensive set of pre-packaged science experiments that support each lesson, and expresses an unabashed Biblical world view, reflecting the teaching of groups like the Creation Truth Foundation and the Institute for Creation Research. By integrating a specifically young-earth creationist perspective, TIS is winning accolades from reviewers and private school administrators across the country and has received enthusiastic responses at home school conventions this year.

The year-long curriculum complies with national standards by addressing each of the tenets of science while including the Biblical worldview in each topic. This is accomplished with eleven-unit STEPS workbooks for the student paired with the use of a comprehensive Teacher's Edition, which facilitates a teacher-led instruction format but also allows for students to engage in a self-led process making the presentation ideal for the growing home-school environment and for many private schools as well.

TIS was designed to be a stand-alone science curriculum including tests, quizzes, transparencies, and an instructional DVD, but it can also be integrated with an existing curriculum. Grade six is available for immediate shipment and grades three, four, and five will be released in the Spring of 2010.

The grade six student text is US$31.95 plus shipping, and the grade 6 teacher’s edition is US$47.95 plus shipping.

The conference purpose is to issue the call for a new generation of ECOT (evangelical, conservative, orthodox, traditional) pastors and leaders in the historic mainline churches. Speakers include Robert Gagnon, John Armstrong, Jim Tomberlin, Bob Thompson, and a growing list of Evangelical, Congregational, Orthodox, and Traditional (ECOT) scholars and pastors in mainline settings.

A link for complete registration information will be available on the ACR web site 31 January 2010. Please send an email to starloftin@charter.net if you would like one or more “Save the Date” refrigerator magnets. Please send an email message to bob@corinthtoday.org if you would like an ACR speaker to address a student group, seminary setting, or local congregation about this event.